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Trump Awards Legion of Merit to Coast Guard Swimmer Who Saved 165 at Camp Mystic

The State of the Union moment reunited Scott Ruskan with 11-year-old Milly Cate McClymond to highlight the human toll of the 2025 Hill Country flash floods.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Ruskan and Milly Cate, a camper who was rescued by Ruskan during the flooding at Camp Mystic, attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on February 24, 2026 in Washington, DC.
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Overview

  • President Donald Trump presented the Legion of Merit to Petty Officer Scott Ruskan during Tuesday’s State of the Union address.
  • Ruskan is credited with helping evacuate roughly 165 people at Camp Mystic during the July 4, 2025 flooding in Central Texas.
  • News accounts describe the mission as his first official rescue operation and detail triage coordination and helicopter lifts over several hours.
  • The president introduced Ruskan alongside survivor Milly Cate McClymond, noting this was their first reunion since the rescue.
  • The floods killed more than 130 people across the region, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, as the Guadalupe River rose with devastating speed.